Convenience food and its packaging effect on human health a case study of Bantama market

Abstract

Packaging is an important material that protects the food put into it from external factors, keeps it fresh, allows the food to reach the consumer in a healthy and reliable way, and enables proper transportation and storage. Food packaging, which has widespread uses for reasons such as facilitation of everyday life, is one of the more recent hot topics regarding food due to issues such as consumers’ health, food costs and environmental factors. Glass and plastic are the most common packaging materials encountered by consumers. All glass and plastic materials that come into contact with foods and beverages such as so drinks bottles, baby bottles, foam containers, jars, and demijohns are under the scope of food packaging. In recent years, sensitivities regarding food security, human health and the environment have increased in food & beverage packaging. Glass packaging has advantages such as being healthier, being able to maintain food for longer durations and having 100% recyclability, whereas plastic packaging has advantages such as being less costly, being resistant to breaking and causing less air pollution. Over the past four decades, demand for foods that save households time in meal preparation and clean up (i.e., “convenience foods”) has grown in Ghana and around the world. This has implications for dietary quality and health. But little is known about the drivers behind the growth in demand for such foods. One driver might be that Ghanaians and for that matter the world at large is purchasing more processed foods because of those foods’ declining market prices relative to their less processed counterparts. Another driver might be that the most advertised foods are those that are the most convenient or that Ghanaian households have little time for meal preparation because of labour market participation. How declining incomes affect the demand for convenience may also be a driver. Between 1999 and 2010, changes in prices and total food expenditure drove most food-purchasing patterns. Meals and snacks at fast-food restaurants were also responsive to changes in advertising expenditures, while hours worked had little effect on demand for any foods. In the 21st century increasing world population, rising food prices and other socioeconomic impacts are expected to generate a great threat to agriculture and food security worldwide. Food is one of the basic needs of the human being. It is required for the normal functioning of the body parts and for a healthy growth. Consumer interest in ready-to-eat (RTE) snack and ready-to-serve (RTS) food is growing due to their convenience, value, attractive appearance, taste and texture. Most of the foods packed in plastic material. But longer use of plastic-coated material is slow poison for human health.